Reunited, And It Feels So Good
by AmazonTurk
Summary: Rude gets back that which was wrongly taken from him. One-shot for now; could be persuaded to write more if there is a demand for it.
1. Reunited, And It Feels So Good

**_A/N: The Muses love me again!_**

**_Disclaimer: The only thing I own is my super cool new hair._**

* * *

The store wasn't in the best part of town. It was situated on the outskirts of both Old Midgar and Edge, in a small area with a Burrito Gong nearby. You know, because picking through second hand items was hungry work and required a run to the border after the pilfering was complete.

Right.

Rude stepped out of the truck he'd borrowed from the ShinRa garage. First of all, there was no way in all the circles of hell that he was taking his Bentley into an area like this. Secondly, his vehicle wasn't large enough for what he planned to purchase from this establishment.

That is, if _it_ was still here.

He wasn't a Turk today and, as such, had forgone the uniform in favor of dark blue jeans and a tight, white T-shirt. Today, he was simply a consumer in search of a particular item to purchase: a vintage recliner whose departure from his ownership was due to a red-streaked demon. And even though he loved the red-streaked demon in question, the recliner held a sentimental value that could not be measured in gil or aesthetic value (this recliner was _ugly_!); and because of this, he would deny his girlfriend's wishes to keep the recliner out of their posh shared apartment and would get back that which was rightfully his.

That is, _if_ it was still here.

With a deep breath, the bald man stepped through the doors of Best Intentions and scanned the interior with a trained eye. A fairly attractive, yet horribly over-siliconed woman popped her gum at him with a smile before saunteering over and blocking his path into the store. "Can I help you?" she asked before blowing a bubble.

"Furniture," was the one word answer of the sunglasses bedecked man.

The woman pointed to the far right corner of the store and Rude's path was set. Maneuvering through the racks of clothing, the shelves of appliances, he entered into the world of second, and in some cases, third hand furniture. A dining room table, a love seat and a futon seemed to be the only furniture in the area. Determination set in, for Rude knew that he was the only one that could ever love that recliner unconditionally. He travelled every square foot of the store in search of his recliner, defeat only beginning to set in on his third trip around the facility. Deep in thought, his sense of smell was assaulted with cheap body spray and bubble mint gum.

_Pop_.

"Find what you're looking for?" came a feminine voice made rough from years of smoking.

"No."

Again, his path was set. He saw an 'Employees Only' sign and went through the door, determination to find that which was wrongly taken from him overpowering the mediocre warning sign. His defiance against store policy paid off as he entered into another world of non-tagged items. And there, sitting in the midst of broken blenders and stained mattresses, was the object he had been questing after for the better part of two hours.

It looked just as it had in his apartment. The once taupe upholstery darkened to brown from years of (mis)use. The tear in the back from where Reno had practiced his non-existent knife throwing skills. The place where a lever had once been to transform the upright sitting instrument into a laid back gift from the sitting gods, still broken, still perfect. Rude sat in the chair, smiling slightly at the familiar feeling of being enveloped in that which was molded to him perfectly. Nothing had ever fit him so well. Nothing could ruin this 'reunion' of two souls brought back together again.

_Pop_.

"Uh, ya can't be back here," the woman told him.

"How much for the chair?"

She looked at the piece of furniture and shook her head. "Not for sale," she answered. "Someone dropped it off and it's broke. It's trash."

Rude stood up and lifted the chair. "I'll take it," he said, walking out of the back room and through the store to the exit. Loading his recliner into the truck, he climbed in and headed back to the apartment, a satisfied smirk in place.

* * *

Kandi scanned her eyes and stepped into the apartment, grocery bag on her hip. "Guys!" she called. "I'm home."

She looked into her apartment and noticed that something was...off. Set off to the left side of her big screen TV, clashing horribly with her black leather furniture, was a gods-awful monstrosity of chair-flesh; frayed edges, tears, the works. The bag of groceries dropped to the floor as the chair turned and her bald lover looked at her over the tops of his sunglasses, elbows resting on the armrests and fingers steepled together.

"Hello Kandi."

"Where--how--why?!" she asked shoving her fingers through her hair. "I would have bet money they'd had sold this thing by now!"

"Nope."

Hands found hips as Kandi shot a death glare at him. "Why do you even like that thing?" she asked in exasperation. "It doesn't go with anything you had before, it definitely doesn't go with anything now and the thing doesn't even recline."

Rude took out his lock pick set and shoved one of the tools into the place where the lever had once been. Seconds later, his feet were elevated and he was reclining comfortably. "You were saying?" he asked smugly.

"Oh!" she grumbled, stooping to pick up her bag of groceries. "This isn't over, Bald Eagle. Not by a long shot."

Rude's smirk never faded as he turned his recliner back to face the TV. Feet propped up, torso reclined back at the perfect angle, hands resting on his stomach, eyes closed in contentment. Now, he was home. Nothing could ruin this moment.

_Pop_.

One brown eye opened to see a pair of violet staring at him. Andria blew a bubble and shook her head. "You do realize what you started, don't you?" she asked, crawling up into the recliner and sitting in his lap.

Rude's lips twitched slightly as he patted Andria's leg, holding the girl close. He had been wrong before. _Now_...he was home.

* * *

_**A/N: Should I do another one? Could be fun. Reviews are loved.**_


	2. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

**_A/N: Part deux._**

**_Disclaimer: In a time where dragons are the primer intelligent beings and humans are an enslaved species, there is one woman who owns Final Fantasy. And that woman is AmazonTurk!_**

**_Zack: Uh, AT?_**

**_AT: Yes, Sex Slave #2?_**

**_Zack: Uh...wait! Number 2?!_**

**_AT: Yes. You were saying?_**

**_Zack: That (points above) is a fantasy._**

**_AT: Let me have my dream! (sobs)_**

**_Rude: Be nice, Zack. She's depressed. She's been out of high school for ten years._**

**_Zack: Ah._**

**_AT: Thank you, Sex Slave #1._**

**_Zack: Hey! I'm second to HIM?!_**

**_Rude: (smirk)_**

* * *

Kandi looked up from her sandwich as her front door beeped, indicating that someone had scanned their eyes and was entering her domain. A large man entered, his blue eyes hidden behind sunglasses, his hair short and shagged.

"Hey! Grease Monkey! You cut the hair!" she exclaimed with a grin. "Nice. What's Lily think of it?"

Joel ran his fingers through his now short locks. "She likes it," he said with a smile. "She convinced me to get it cut. What can I say? I'm a sucker for that girl."

"Aw, how touching," Kandi said, rolling her eyes. Joel sat at the bar across from her and reached for a pickle. "Want something to eat? I figure I can pay you for the services you will performing for me. Mwah ha ha."

"Sounds kinky," Joel laughed. "Yeah, I'll take a sammich."

Kandi started slapping together the snack and shoved the sandwich at him. "We need to hurry, though," she told him. "Rude will be back tonight and I need to make sure there is no evidence of you being here."

"Yeah, I really don't want that guy kicking my ass," Joel said through a mouthful of food. "I'm big, but he's bigger. I gotta admit, I'm a little nervous about this."

Kandi snorted. "I know for a fact this ain't your first time," she said lowly. "Nilto's told me what you've done for her."

"Ah, so I come with recommendations?" Joel smirked. "Yeah, I've done this with Nilto, too."

"So what are you afraid of?"

"If I would have gotten caught, Randak and I are basically brothers-in-law," he explained. "He wouldn't have maimed me over this. Rude might."

"Only if we get caught," Kandi said, leaning forward and poking his nose. "But we won't if you hurry up."

"You want it done right?" Kandi nodded. Joel smirked again. "Then I need to take my time."

"Do you value your testicles?" she countered. Joel swallowed and nodded. "Then hurry the fuck up. He'll be back from his mission in less than four hours."

Joel stuffed the rest of his sandwich in his mouth. "Let's do this, Babe."

* * *

"Ouch! That fucking hurts!" Kandi hissed.

"I'm doing the best I can," Joel grumbled, switching positions. "And _you're_ not helping."

"I thought you were a big guy," she countered. "You should be able to handle this."

"Not in an elevator!" he exclaimed.

Kandi's head slammed against the side of the elevator with an audible _thwack_! as she was propelled backward. "Knock it off!" she screamed at him.

"I can't help it!" Joel yelled back. "It's heavier than it looks."

"Rude handled it all by himself," Kand snapped, trying to get a better grip on the dirty recliner. "He carried it all the way up here without any help."

"Well then maybe you should ask _him_ to get rid of it," Joel retorted. "Oh. That's right. You can't because HE DOESN'T KNOW!"

Kandi shoved the recliner at Joel, slamming her co-worker against the other side of the elevator. "Fuck you, Asshole," she snarled. The elevator dinged and the door opened on the sixth to the last floor, revealing a middle-aged man on his cell phone and holding a briefcase. He stepped inside and pressed the "Close Door" button, never once stopping his conversation.

"No, I told you to tell him that the deal would be no less that 2.5 million gil," he exclaimed, turning around and setting his briefcase on the recliner and opening it. He pulled out a document and scanned the contents. "No, I'm looking at the document right now, Harris. It's signed by the client. I don't care if he says we had a verbal for 1.8 million. We have a signed contract for the 2.5!"

Kandi was about to spew every curse word she knew at the guy when the elevator opened _again_ on the second to the last floor. An elderly woman looked at the full elevator and smiled. "I'll wait for the next one," she said.

"Yeah, we're full, Granny, thanks," the man snorted closing the door again. He closed his briefcase and turned around, _leaning_ against the recliner still in the precarious grasp of the two Turks. "Some people. Listen, Harris, I'll be at the office in 20 minutes. Bye."

The elevator opened and the man stepped out, not bothering to hold the door for them. Kandi did a wicked maneuver, balancing on one flip flop clad foot while the big toe of her other foot held the "Open Door" button, allowing Joel to back out of the elevator. They collapsed into a pile on the floor, the recliner landing between them. Kandi scrambled to her feet to try to save her other flip flop from the elevator before it closed, but failed and watched as it rode to the penthouse. Maybe one of her Sista's would get it for her.

"Hey, Kandi, let's get this thing in the truck," Joel said, nervously glancing at his watch.

Kandi nodded and walked over to him, one flip flop on, one flip flop off.

* * *

The pasta was boiling and the chocobo and broccoli were simmering, a jar of Alfredo sauce sitting off to the side, waiting to be added to the mixture. She'd never gotten her flip flop back. Sad thing, really. Those were one of her favorite pairs.

Joel had taken the recliner off to the Sector Six slums where he'd given it to a furniture dealer in the area. The chances of Rude finding out where it was or who it had gone to after that were slim to none. Unlike at Best Intentions, furniture in the Sector Six slums didn't last long.

Andria was shaking her head as she prepared a spinach salad. "Mom, you should just...let it go," she told her.

"I have, Andi," she said with a smile. "It's gone forever."

"Oh boy," Andria sighed, cutting up some cherry tomatoes and cucumber. The microwave binged, singling her bacon for the salad was done. "This is going to keep on until someone gets hurt, isn't it?"

"Don't be silly, Andi," Kandi said stirring the broccoli and chocobo. "It's over."

The door beeped and they looked up, smiling when Rude walked through the door. Andria set the bacon next to the salad and ran to him, leaping into his arms. Rude caught her easily, hugging her to him. "Miss me?" he asked, kissing her cheek.

"Only a whole lot," she replied, squeezing him hard. "Just as much as Axys missed Uncle Reno."

Kandi waved at him as she continued with dinner. "How'd it go?" she asked.

"Good," Rude said, setting Andria down and tossing his bag into his and Kandi's bedroom. He went to sit down and stopped. "Where's my recliner?"

Kandi looked up and gestured to the black leather recliner. "Right there," she said. "Where it's always been."

Rude looked again and took his sunglasses off. "No," he said patiently. "That's the recliner you've always had. I mean, where's _my_ recliner?"

"That's the recliner you claimed as yours when you first moved it with us," Kandi told him with a saccharine sweet smile. "That's the only one you've ever had here."

"Where's the ratty, old one you hate?" he asked returning the smile with one of his own.

"Oh, I gave that to Best Intentions when you first moved in, remember?" she said, her voice dripping with sugar.

Andria rolled her eyes and continued with her salad. "Oh brother," she grumbled.

Rude went into the kitchen and kissed his girlfriend sweetly. "I'm going to go take a shower," he said. He leaned in close and growled into her ear. "This is not over yet, Hot Mama. Not by a long shot."

She batted her eyes at him. "I don't know what you're talking about, Dear," she said, doing her best Mrs. Cleaver impersonation. "Don't be long in the shower. Supper will get cold."

Rude glared at her and walked into their bedroom. Andria laughed. "Well played, Mom," she said, tossing the salad. "Pretending he never brought it back. Nice."

Kandi smirked. Oh yes. She had won.

* * *

_**A/N: I know she's an OC, but damn does she and Rude work good together! Besides, he's never with anyone cannonically, so it's cool to give him a bitchin' girlfriend. Reviews/reviewers are loved!**_


	3. At Last, My Love Has Come Along

_**A/N: Going to finish up this fic. Yep...three chapters. That's good enough.**_

**_Disclaimer: Don't own it; want to but I don't. I own Kandi though and all her mental problems. Damn it._**

* * *

Zack snuggled soundly against her chest, Kandi rose to her feet and made her way down the hallway to his room. She lay her son down in his crib after kissing his little bald head and looked down at him, sleeping peacefully. Smiling, she looked around Zack's room. All blue and black and white, the colors of SOLDIER and the Turks. She gave a soft laugh thinking he'd probably end up majoring in business or something; but it wasn't likely. With both his parents being Turks and his namesake being a former SOLDIER First Class, the poor kid didn't stand a chance.

But her smile faded as she glanced around his room again. In all the preparation she and Rude had made for Zack's room, they had forgotten something. Something imperative to an infant's nursery. Shaking her head, she exited the room, knowing what she was going to do and actually hating and loving it at the same time.

She pulled out her cell phone and called up one of her favorite babysitter's. "Niki-chan?" she said softly. "Do you care to come by and keep an eye on Zacky? Andria and I have an errand to run. All right. See you in about fifteen minutes then. Thanks."

Kandi then went to her daughter's room, knocking on the door softly. "Come in," Andria called. Kandi eased in and grinned and the little red-streaked girl. Andria looked up and returned the smile. "Hey, Mom. What's up?"

"We've got a mission," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Niki-chan's coming over to keep an eye on Zack. We've got a very small window of opportunity before the target arrives."

Andria was intrigued and slipped on her shoes immediately. "Who's the target?" she asked, throwing her hair up into a ponytail and grabbing her backpack. She kept her lock pick set in there, as well as some..._other _necessary junior, tween future Turk trainee gear.

Kandi's eyes narrowed. "You'll see."

* * *

"Well, damn," Kandi cursed, throwing the truck into park. "This blows."

"You should have known this would happen," Andria told her matter-of-factly. "I mean, that was the whole reason you chose this location in the first place."

"Yeah, I know, thanks, Sergeant Know-It-All," Kandi snapped. Andria rolled her eyes and popped a piece of bubble gum in her mouth, offering a piece to Kandi. Kandi accepted it and leaned back against the old, worn out seat of the borrowed ShinRa truck.

"So, now what?" Andria asked. "The likely hood of us actually finding it is slim to none."

"We gotta try," Kandi said, turning the engine off and jumping out of the truck. "I don't like failing missions."

"Even self-assigned missions?"

"Especially those!" Kandi answered, turning to her daughter, who was hitting keys on her phone. "Who you texting?"

"Ax," she answered distractedly. "She's with her dad this weekend. I told her we were on a mission."

"Hmph," Kandi said, looking around, trying to figure out a place to start. "Well, Sector 6 isn't too big. Maybe we'll get lucky."

Her cell phone buzzed with an incoming text message. She reached for it and flipped it open, seeing it was from Reno.

_I no wut ur doin...Ax jus tld me._

Kandi texted back. _Ya...so?_

She waited, flipping it opened again when it buzzed.

_I no whr it iz._

Her eyes widened. _WHERE?_

_Dun shout!_

_Sry...where?_

_Wut u give me? ^.^_

Kandi growed and hit Reno's speed dial.

_"Yo."_

"You get the satisfaction of living another day with out my fist up your ass!" she hissed.

_"Hmmm...into fisting, huh?"_

"Reno..."

_"Okay, okay," _the red-head laughed on the other end. _"You know the old weapons shop? Across from what used to be a playground?"_

"Yeah?"

_"I saw it in there," _Reno told her. _"Check it out."_

"Reno, if this works out, I so owe you."

_"Yes, but the payment I want can't be accepted since you are my best friend's girl," _he sighed dramatically. _"So, I'll just take a six-pack."_

"Oh and here I was going to get you some Scotch," she replied with a grin. "Glad to know it'll just cost me a six-pack."

_"No wait! Scotch is bet-"_

"Bye, Re!" Kandi laughed evilly as she closed her cell phone. "Sucker."

Andria looked up at her. "He give you some good intel?" she asked, closing her own cell phone.

"He better have," Kandi said, leading the way to the weapons shop. "We're about to find out."

* * *

_"A hundred gil?" _Kandi shrieked. The shop keeper smirked, hairy arms crossed over a dirty tank top. _"It ain't worth five!"_

"You want it? That's the price to get it," he answered, leaning against the back counter. The vein in the right side of Kandi's forehead started throbbing.

Andria took a step back and grinned at the shop keeper. "Hope your insurance is paid up," she said, making sure to stay clear of her mother.

Kandi hopped on the counter and grabbed the man by the hair and slammed his face into the hard surface, shattering his nose. She leaned down and spoke softly into his ear. "Hands off the hold-up button and on the counter where I can see them," she said. Once he had obeyed, she continued. "Now, I don't know if you think you can screw me over because I'm a woman or what, but let me fill you in on a little secret; I'm a Turk. I'm willing to pay you fairly for the item I want, but I will not be fucked with, got it?"

"Y-yes ma'am," he replied. "You can just take it."

"No, I'm going to pay you, because you are going to insure that it is in presentable condition," she sneered, pulling him back up and looking into his eyes. "And you've got one hour. I'm taking my daugther to lunch. After that, I'll be back. If it's not to my tastes...well, let's just say it better be to my tastes, got it?"

"Yes ma'am."

Kandi released him and jumped back off the counter. She straightened her shirt and looked at Andria. "What're you hungry for?" she asked.

"Cheeseburger sounds good," Andria said with a nod.

"Ooh, and milkshakes," Kandi said. "Let's go find a place."

* * *

"Mom, there's a really awesome pair of shoes I've been looking at," Andria told her as she sipped her milkshake. "But they're really expensive. Think you can talk to the store manager and get me a discount?"

Kandi smirked and ate her burger.

* * *

The red-streaked Turk nodded in approval. "Not bad, not bad," she commented, looking at the item in question. "Load it up in the truck, my friend!"

The shop keeper did as she asked, sweating profusely from the miracle he had just accomplised. Kandi reached into her back pocket and handed him a wad of cash and slapped him on the back. The man looked down and counted the money as the truck pulled away.

Exactly one-hundred gil.

* * *

Andria bit into a peach as she watched her mom. "You know, you really are a nice person," she said, giving Zack a tiny piece of the fruit. He gummed it to death before swallowing and making his 'num, num, num' noise to indicate he wanted more.

"Don't tell anyone," Kandi panted, trying to get everything situated correctly. "Spawn or not, I'd have to hurt you."

"Uh huh."

"Brat."

"Love you."

Kandi rolled her eyes and kissed Andria's forehead before snatching her piece of fruit and taking a bite. "Love you, too."

* * *

The retinal scanner beeped and the door swung open revealing their favorite bald man. Andria leapt to her feet and ran to him, giving him a huge hug when he scooped her up into his arms.

"Missed you," he said softly, holding her tight.

"Missed you, too," she said, kissing his nose.

He set her down and went to wear Kandi was laying on the floor with their son, the baby held up over her head as she lay on her back. She looked up at Rude and grinned. "How was the mission?" she asked.

Rude shrugged. "Not bad," he answered, kissing her lips and taking Zack from her. "Glad to be home."

"I'll bet," she said, rolling over onto her stomach and getting up to her feet. She reached for the baby. "Why don't you put your stuff up and then we'll figure out what to have for dinner. I'm feeling Wutain tonight."

"Sounds good," Rude replied, throwing his bag into their room and kicking off his shoes.

"Hey, Babe, can you get me Zack's pacifier?" Kandi called. "It's in his room on his dresser."

"Sure," he said, walking down the hall to his son's room. He walked in and stopped.

_It _was back.

He ventured into the room and touched it reverently before easing himself into it. His old recliner. It still fit him like a glove. It was cleaner and a lot less grimey and smelly than he remembered, but it was still his. Hearing a giggle, he looked up at the door to see Kandi and Andria grinning at him, Zack in Kandi's arms and teething on one of her earrings.

The bald assassin leaned back, reaching inside his pocket for one of his lock picks and inserting it into the mechanism to make it recline. He smiled in pure satisfaction.

"I can handle it in here."

"Good," Kandi said with a nod. "Zacky's room needed a chair anyway, so I thought why not. I mean, its very Turkish so it fits."

"Where was it?" he asked. "You hid it well."

Kandi smirked, covering Andria's mouth with her free hand. "Right where I left," she replied. "Come on. I'm hungry."

Andria watched as she left with Zack back to the living room and then climbed up into Rude's lap. "We had to look all over," she told him. "She really loves you, Daddy Rude."

He pulled his sunglasses off and stuck them in his jacket pocket. "I know," he answered. "I love her, too."

"And she really is a nice person," Andria added.

Rude rose from the recliner and took Andria's hand, leading her to the living room to get Zack and Kandi before heading out to dinner. "Just don't tell anyone."

* * *

_**A/N: YAY! This fic is OVER! Hope you liked it. Trying to tie up lose ends before I disappear off the face of the Planet again. Reviews are loved!**_


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